Sometimes an athlete has a defining moment in his or her career. It may be a statistical explosion or it could be a last-second game winner. When looking at the incredible athletic career compiled by Scott Tumilty at Augustana, his defining moment may well have been what transpired over Easter weekend in 1996. On April 3 he ran a leg on the Vikings sprint medley relay team that set a new meet record of 3:31.59 in winning the Viking Olympics. Two days later, on Friday, April 5, he tossed a complete game as Augustana defeated North Central 7-2 in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin baseball action. With that win, Tumilty established a new school record for career pitching victories with 23.
There will be debate forever on whether he is the best athlete to ever pull on an athletic uniform at Augustana. He certainly will be mentioned every time the topic is broached. One thing is certain, however, Scott Tumilty did not go unnoticed during his career as a Viking.
One of his biggest honors, and he won several, came after he graduated when he was selected as the NCAA Division III Male Athlete of the Year by College Sports Magazine in its July issue in 1996. There was not a thing that Tumilty did not excel at while wearing the Blue and Gold. He earned a total of 10 letters in three sports (football, baseball and track) and was an NCAA Division III All-American in two (football and track & field).
Tumilty garnered most of his attention in football and he left his mark like none before him. Despite the fact that he did not carry the ball from scrimmage in his first two games, he still managed to lead his team in rushing as a freshman. That was the beginning of something big as Tumilty didn’t stop toting the football until he ended his career as the leading rusher and scorer in school history. He ended his career with 3,794 yards rushing on 629 attempts, an average of 6.0 yards per carry. He scored 330 points during his career.
He also set a single season school record with 114 points as a senior on 19 touchdowns. He holds the school record for career touchdowns with 54 and all-purpose yardage with 5,856. Four times he was a first team all-conference performer in the CCIW and three times he was the conference’s “Offensive Player of the Year”. He led the Vikings to CCIW titles in 1993 and 1994 and to the NCAA playoffs in 1994. He was twice named the team’s MVP and was a two time All-American at running back.
From football, Tumilty picked up his glove and bat and headed for the baseball diamond where he was an immediate standout. He was a pitcher and an outfielder and he excelled at both positions. He set school records for career innings pitched (247 1/3) and career victories (25) and he also set school marks for single season steals (22) and runs scored (45) and runs scored in a career (102). He was a career .339 hitter who was a three-time first team all-conference selection and twice named team MVP.
Halfway through his collegiate career he decided to give track & field a shot and nobody was surprised that he was a success there as well. At the end of his sophomore season, when baseball was finished, he ran the open 400 in a twilight meet and was clocked in :49.5, one of the best times recorded by a Viking that year (1994).
Encouraged by veteran track & field coach Paul Olsen, Tumilty ran indoor track as a junior and then went back to baseball in the spring. When the baseball season ended he traded in his cleats for track spikes and was inserted in the Vikings lineup just in time for the national meet. Running in just the third organized outdoor meet of his life, he handled the second leg of the 1600 relay in the NCAA final. He held up well and earned an All-American certificate on the same day the school was announcing that he was the MVP in baseball.
His senior year was much the same as he ran indoors, played baseball and then switched back to track and onto the 1600 relay. He moved into the all-important leadoff spot and one week before the national meet, in the same twilight meet where he had been “discovered” two years earlier, he ran a sizzling :48.2 and was part of a school record time of 3:13.13. That unit finished fourth in the nation at the national meet.
He graduated in 1996 with degrees in history, secondary education and physical education and he has been employed as a teacher/coach at Maine South High School in Park Ridge, Illinois for 11 years. He and his wife Katie, who was a track and cross country standout in her own right at Augustana, have four children: Scotty (eight), Sam (seven), Gracie (six) and Joey (four).
“I wouldn’t have traded the experience for the world,” he said. “I met outstanding friends, great team members, coaches, and professors. I wanted to teach and coach and I had great mentors. I met my wife here and don’t know that I could ask for anything more.”
